1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is concerned with the field of dentistry and specifically with the field of dental prophy angles used for dental prophylaxis. More particularly, the invention is concerned with a dental prophy angle including a housing presenting a head end and a shank end with a passageway extending between said ends, a drive shaft extending along the passageway, a plurality of sealing rings integrally formed as part of the housing and extending inwardly therefrom into sealing engagement with the drive shaft, and a pair of auger flights integrally formed as part of the shaft for propelling buccal matter along the passageway for ejection through the head end.
2. Description of The Prior Art
In recent years, concern for preventing the transmission of diseases during dental procedures has increased. One possible transmission path for diseases is improperly sterilized dental equipment.
Disposable dental prophy angles provide a conventional solution to the problems of reusable dental equipment. Disposable prophy angles are generally formed of a suitable synthetic resin material and are designed to be coupled with a conventional dental power supply.
Disposable prophy angles effectively prevent the spread of disease from patient to patient, but do not completely protect the dentist. Buccal matter such as saliva, blood, and tissue particles can migrate from the patient's mouth to the dentist's handset through the passageways of dental prophy angles. Thus, the prior art points out the need for an improved disposable prophy angle that can prevent the migration of buccal matter from the patient's mouth to the dentist.